Scoring sweet swag, reviewing awesome products and living the rad mom life.

Archive for October, 2015

This past week I attended the Green Moms Meet WOW Summit here in sunny San Diego. And let me just say, WOW was definitely the right word to use for this event. It was a Swag Mama’s heaven to say the least. There was so. much. swag. I was swimming in it by the end of the day. It was an all day event that included presentations from various speakers in a large room followed by smaller workshops in the afternoon. There was an exhibitor hall that housed all of the swag and each vendor offered samples and snacks. The lobby area was filled with unlimited coffee and water, activity tables, and a raffle ticket area. Kids were welcome, but it really was an event for moms to connect and learn more about green and healthy living. Because this was such a huge event, I am breaking this post up into parts!

VIP just meant that I got more swag. 🙂

This event was sponsored by Kiwi Magazine and the founder, Maxine Wolf even said a few words!

The next speaker was Jillian Darlington, who is the founder of the MomCO app. She is pretty rad and if you are looking for some new mom connections, go ahead and download the app. Use my code when registering! K3GYX7UXFO

Next up was celebrity chef, Ann Cooper from the Chef Ann Foundation. She is pretty dope because she has a mission to bring healthy and real foods into school cafeterias all around the country. Check out her #realschoolfood initiative so that you can take part in this important cause!

Then it was break time and off to check out all of the exhibitors in the exhibitor hall!

One of the activities was to create a trophy that your child would give. Mine would probably give me a “Silliest Singer” trophy. 🙂

Now, for some SWAG!

There was tons of SWAG at this event so I’m just going to start off with the MomCo swag.

-Insulated bag – I LOVE this! I love tote bags of all sorts, but an insulated one is a pretty sweet bonus!

– Tumbler cup with a straw

-Water bottle – I already carry this little gem everywhere I go

Check back for Part 2 where I will post even more SWAG! You can also now follow me on Instagram! @theswagmama

Like this:

Yesterday I participated in the Okterberfest 5k/2mile walk that was held on Naval Air Base-Coronado. It was a small, free race offered to all military patrons and their dependents. It also offered not only spectacular views, but an opportunity to run with some of my running friends. It was a fun run (non chip-timed) that included the option to turn around at the 1 mile point rather than 1.5 mile mark. Parking was less than stellar…I had to park about a half mile out, but hey, it’s a good warmup right? There were a few vendors present including a military housing association, DeVry University, and a few chiropractic care organizations. There was also a DJ that kept the energy flowing by playing “The Cupid Shuffle” and holding stein-holding contests. The course was pretty flat and there was a water station, but there was no shade anywhere which made this run a pretty warm one. The run ended with more music, lots of water, chips, and of course in true Oktoberfest fashion, bratwurst. I also had the opportunity to speak with a representative from Pain Care San Diego who informed that they give great military discounts for their chiropractic and massage treatments. I will definitely be checking them out! Overall, a well organized fun and free run (no beer) that I found through Navy Life Southwest. I enjoyed it and I will most likely participate in this run next year!

Fun Fact: The first Oktoberfest was held in 1810!

So what was the SWAG?!

A t-shirt

Yeah I know, a little anticlimactic…but it was a free run! And a beautiful day with an awesome view so I am also counting that as swag. My daughter also won a mini rubber ducky from a wheel spin, so I’m going to call that baby swag. Aaaannd I found a chiropractor with a sweet discount, so I’m counting that too. And it was a pretty decent bratwurst. 😉

Like this:

Over the weekend I had the opportunity to attend a free (yes, free!) 30 minute workout with Ms. Motivation herself, Jillian Michaels! Some of you may know her from “The Biggest Loser” or maybe her brief stint on “The Doctors”. Others may know her from her books or workout DVD’s. Either way, when you hear the name Jillian Michaels, the words “motivational” or “transformation” may come to mind. To add to the torture, she brought along with her Tee Major, another motivational fitness guru. Between the both of them, I was sweating before the warm-up was over. Her workout included lots of cardio that incorporated several full body moves. I couldn’t remember the last time I had completed pushups, side planks, jumping lunges, sumo squats, jumping jacks, and burpees all in one setting. And that was only half the workout! But because of the custom Jillian Michaels, heart pumping soundtrack that included catchy high-tempo beats, I actually thought I was having fun! My favorite part of the workout was that she would take breaks and come into the crowd to motivate us and push us to new limits. There were several times when I was actually within inches of the most hardcore trainer in the country…and I may have even sweated on her a time or two (sorry, Jillian). It was a pretty amazing experience just being near her and before I knew it, the 30 minutes was over. 😦 It is now 2 days later and the soreness has reminded how out of shape I really am. I didn’t take a ton of pictures because I was too busy working out and trying to catch my breath! Plus I knew they were filming and taking their own photos that I am sure will appear somewhere in cyberland for me to view later.

Now I must say, there were several other factors that made this experience super fabulous. One being that this whole workout took place on the flight deck of the USS Midway Museum. So not only did I get to workout with a celebrity, it occurred on a historic ship with a beautiful view! The other factor was that this event was sponsored by Thrive Market, who provided all attendees with a swag bag and a free year of membership ($60 value)! If you are unfamiliar with Thrive Market, it basically is an online market that offers natural and non-toxic foods and healthy goods at wholesale pricing. The founder and co-CEO, Gunnar Lovelace, even shared a few words at the end of our workout. It sounds like a really awesome company and I can’t wait to place my first order! Did I also mention that this event was family friendly?! Meaning you could bring all of your little kiddos along to workout alongside with you and the trainers! Even though my kids stayed at home to nap with daddy, this was one of the things that attracted me to this event in the first place. I loved seeing all of the kids working out with their parents and watching Jillian engage with them and get down on their level to workout with them, too!

This was also my first experience at a Blue Star Families event and overall, I was more than impressed. The goal of their organization is to strengthen military families and lead them to ongoing opportunities by providing community connections. And the best part: it’s free to join! I would say the entire event was well organized and ran pretty smoothly. I arrived around 2:40pm (20 minutes prior to the advertised scheduled start time) and found the tent that was set up outside of the museum. Someone came along and handed out “Thrive Market” and “Blue Star Families” shirts and gave us photo releases to sign. Then, they took our pictures, gave us a couple of bottles of water and sent us up to the flight deck. The area upstairs was clearly roped off and security stood around the parameters of the stage. I also liked that the event wasn’t overcrowded – there were probably less than 250 people in attendance. I really thought this place was going to be packed and I wasn’t going to have any room to workout, but it was perfect! I’m not sure if it was because the event wasn’t overly advertised or if people just weren’t up to spending their Saturday being tortured by Jillian and Tee. Either way, I had a great time and those people definitely missed out! The only complaint about the event (which really wasn’t a big deal) was that it started about 45 minutes late due to technical difficulties. But, I do feel that a delay on start time should be expected at any event involving a celebrity.

I really cannot say enough great things about this event. It combined healthy living, family togetherness, beautiful views, military appreciation, and celebrity engagement all in one lovely afternoon. I have to give a huge thank you to Blue Star Families for providing this amazing opportunity and for organizing such an awesome event! I hope you get the chance to check out an event like this in the future. Now I’m off to pop in one of Jillian’s “Body Revolution” DVD’s to get tortured some more. 😉

Well, I experienced my first Color Run (not to be confused with Color me Rad) last weekend and it definitely exceeded my expectations! I wasn’t sure what to expect exactly as I don’t typically participate in gimmick runs, but I thought I would give this one a shot as it’s a pretty hyped up event. If I only had one word to describe this run, it would be: FUN! It pretty much combined two of my favorite things: running and celebrating. Just imagine going for a run and then ending it with a big party! I have run several 5k’s and this was by far the most laid back race with the most energy. Now, if you are super competitive and like to see your race time published all over the internet, then this race might not be your cup of tea. But if you are just looking to go for an easy run and experience something new, then this race is right up your alley.

The race is started in waves including a runner’s wave (for the more competitive folks) and a DJ keeps the energy flowing in each corral. Then you are released and off to each color station where volunteers are more than thrilled to cover you in as much dyed cornstarch as possible. This particular race included a “shine” station at the end, which was basically just silvery, shimmery cornstarch. Once you cross the finish, you are given a medal, granola bar, water, and more color packets to keep the fun going. Then you can head over to any or all of the backdrops for many excellent photo ops. One of the most exciting parts of the race is the stage that is manned with a DJ and encourages dancing and more color bombing. Heart-jumping, fist-pumping music is played loudly to provide a great club experience and it almost makes you forget that it’s only 9:30 in the morning. I ran with my toddler and somehow she managed to sleep through the entire thing!

This is definitely a family-friendly event and I recommend running it with friends (which is what I did) as this is an event that you will not want to experience alone. I also recommend bringing a towel and keeping your phone and any other precious belongings in a ziplock bag or other protective covering. Now, with every pro there is a con. One thing I did not like about this race was the location – Qualcomm Stadium. It sounds cool because it’s where the Chargers and other college teams play, but running around a pot-hole filled parking lot isn’t exactly ideal. Also, according to my Garmin, the race was only 2.6 miles which as a runner kind of irked me because it is not a true 5k…but, it’s a “fun” run so I’ll accept it. I’m not sure if I will do any more gimmick runs as they are not as rewarding for a runner as chip-timed runs; however, I would probably do this run again!

P.S. The color washed out of my clothes easily and came off the stroller with a quick rinse from the hose.

So, what about the SWAG?

Color Run shirt – which was very comfortable and I plan to wear it again